“You guys can use the stage here when we’re not open, but it’ll have to be during the morning.” Nash comes over to join us and eyes me warily. “I am really sorry, Kid; I promise if she shows up here, I’ll call you immediately or get her contact information. Fuck, if she won’t give it to me I’ll follow her home.”
I can’t help but snort at that, but I give him a thankful smile before he pulls me into a hug.
“She was looking for the owner of the club,” Nash whispers in my ear while he hugs me. “She wouldn’t tell the bartender why, but I’ll chat to the owner and see if he recognizes her.”
“Why would she be loo- oomph.” Jack tackles me from behind, the force sending the three of us to the floor as he clings to me.
“Welcome to the family Oliver!”
I start laughing, some of the heaviness finally easing as I lie in a pile of limbs on a dirty floor backstage. I laugh even harder when Hale comes over to pull Jack off me but ends up flat on his ass next to us when Jack uses his foot to trip him.
Hale looks pissed off for a second before a huge grin spreads across his face, and he starts tickling Jack. He winks at me before grabbing Grayson’s leg and pulling him into our little puppy pile.
“You guys are children,” He grumbles, but I can see the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. He crawls over to me and pulls me into a hug. “Welcome to the band,, Oliver; we needed another sane member.”
I let go of everything else for the night, enjoying my time with my new friends. Their acceptance of me gave me hope that I didn’t imagine my connection with Savvy. Hopefully, she shows up here again, and Nash can get me her contact information, but I’m not leaving it to chance. Tomorrow I’ll start looking for her, starting with schools on the route we traveled to get here. She might tell me to fuck off, but if I don’t try I’ll always regret it.
Oliver
“Oliver, your friends are here sweetie”
I glance up, spotting Jane standing in the doorway, one hand on her hip as she looks at me in concern.
I sigh, running a hand through my hair, before getting up and wrapping her in a big hug. “Don’t give me that look, I’m okay,” I murmur into her hair.
She lets out a little sniff, pulling away just enough to grasp both my shoulders with her small hands. When she gives me a pointed look, one eyebrow slightly raised, I know she isn’t buying my bullshit.
Jane was the elderly beta woman who owned Jane’s Diner. When I was a kid my mom would bring me here to eat every day. Jane would always make sure to add extra food to my plate, and eventually, she stopped charging Mom for my meal. Mom loved me, but she loved her drugs more. She was unable to overcome her addiction, and when I turned twelve, it ultimately cost her life. Dad gave no fucks about me or what happened to me. If it weren’t for the meal the school provided each day and Jane trying to be sneaky, I would have had no way of feeding myself.
Every afternoon, as I walked past the diner, she’d step outside with a takeout box in hand, like she just happened to have extra.
“The cook made too much again,” she’d say with a smile like we both didn’t know she had extra made just for me.
After about a month of this, I stopped pretending and just accepted her kindness. I started having my meals in the diner instead of takingthem home. Some days, we would chat about her past adventures; others, she would leave me to enjoy my meal in peace. It was nice having someone care for me, to care about me.
About a year later, when I turned fourteen, she handed me an apron and told me that if I was going to keep hanging around, I might as well earn a little cash while I was at it. I worked a couple of shifts during the week and double shifts over the weekend. She continued to provide me with meals, but she fed everyone who worked there, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.
Eventually, I saved enough money to buy my first guitar, which she allowed me to keep in her office. If my dad found out I owned it, he would punish me for spending money on it before selling it for his next fix. He knew I worked here and assumed I was giving him all the money I earned. Unfortunately, I had to hand over a significant portion of it, but he wasn’t aware of how much I earned monthly, thanks to Jane providing me with two pay slips each month.
She was the closest thing to a parental figure I had, and I loved her to bits. Seeing her worried about me made me feel guilty and the need to ease some of those concerns.
It’s been almost a month since that night at Ferality, I’ve been practicing with the guys over the weekends, and it has been a dream come true. I fit into their little group with such ease, like I was always meant to be there. In a couple of months, when I graduate, I will be signing with their band.
They’ve visited the diner a few times, and Jane adores them. Jack is, of course, her favorite. His sweet tooth is impressive, and Jane loves all the compliments she receives from him on her baking. She even started trying new pie recipes when she knew he would bearound, and there hasn’t been a batch he hasn’t devoured. I'm pretty sure if it weren’t for the drums and his inability to sit still for more than two minutes, he would have a weight problem.
“What pie did you bake, Jack, this time?” I ask Jane, trying to distract her from worrying about me.
She huffs, knowing exactly what I’m up to, but thankfully lets me off the hook. “Nothing too special, a coconut cream pie with kiwi mixed in. He seems to be enjoying it.”
“Jack enjoys anything you bake him,” I smirk down at her, and she slaps me lightly on the chest, blushing slightly. “I will be right out, okay? I just need to make one more call.”
“Five minutes Oliver, or I’m sending Hale back here to grab you.” She glances at her watch before walking out the door.
“Yes ma’am!” I call out before rushing back to the desk and grabbing my phone. I type in the number I now know by heart and wait as it rings.
“Kid, I said I would call you,” Nash says, yawning. “I was up until four this morning; I would have appreciated a couple more hours of sleep, you know?”
I roll my eyes at him, even if he can’t see me. “I couldn’t wait, sorry but also not sorry.”
